Buckle



Jan. 25, 1949. H'QFFMAN 2,460,228

BUCKLE Filed March 5, .1947

Patented Jan, 25, 1949 J ITED smrss BUKLE Mas: Hoffman, ltoxbury, Mass.

Application March 5, 1947, Serial No. 732,467

(Cl. 2i-73l 2 Glaims. I

This invention pertains to buckles such as are commonly employed foradjusting the effective length of a strap, for instance strap forming apart of .or as'sociatedwith agarmen't. More especially' it relates to abuckle'having a loop designed detachably to engage a button orequivalent fastener, and having penetrating prongs operative positivelyto holdia strap. adjusted tothe desired effective length; Such a" buckleis useful, for example, for releasably attaching the forward end of a.shoulder strap of a bib-overall'to the upper part off the 'bib.

The shoulder straps employed in work garments are frequently ofsubstantial width-for instance a width of one-and one'-quarter inches ormore is'not'unc'oinrnon; The textile materialuse'd in making suchgarments is customarily closewoven, thick'and rather stiff and'thebuckle must be of sufiicient dimensions to accommodate the strapa-ndstrong enough to carry 'the'load. When made of the" sizeand of amaterial heavy'enough forpractical use, andparticularlywhenth'eistraphas been threaded through the buckle and securedther-eto,thebuckle and adjacent parts make asubst'anti'al area whichisalmostrigid' and which tends to cause discomfort to the wearer and insome cases to interfere with his freedom of move ment;

One object ofv the invention is. to provide a buckle which is veryflexible, as compared with usualprior'bucklesof thesarne. general typeand which thus concluces to the comforter: the wearer. A further objectis to. provide a-buckle which, although flexible, has suliiclen'tstrength, and which isreadily manipulable by the wearer oi the'lgarmentinattaching-it to and detaching it from thegarment button. A furtherobject is to? provide a buckle having penetrating prongs for" positiveengagement with th'e'garment' strap and which also I has abutton-engaging loopor equiyalentielement which is movable relativel ytothe body oii'the buckle so as thereby to facilitate itsengagementwith.ordetachment from" a butt'orn. A3further.objectistoproridea buclzle'liawlhgfthe'. abotve characteristics, iwhich is simple inconstrnctioniandeasy to make. and of relatively low cost. Other andfurther objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out inthe following more detailed description wherein Fig. J. is a plan viewof a buckle embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an edge elevation of the buckle of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary front elevation of a garment provided with ashoulder strap and an 2 attaching button, and showing the buckle of thepresent invention applied thereto.

Referring to the drawings, the in proved buckle ef'th-o presentinvention is illustrated as comprising the yoke. member 1 which ispreferably made by bending a length of wire and flattening it bypressure, although it may be made by stamping from sheet metal'orequivalent procedure. However, the yoke may be of other material, forinstance, moulded plastic. This yoke is substantially rigid'andcomprises the straight cross bar 2 which constitutes a stop for thepenetrating prongs and which integrally merges with spaced limbs 55 andi which, together with the cross bar, define a transversely elongatestrap-receiving slot ii. Preferably the cross bar is provided withshallow recesses tand l for the reception of the pointed ends of thestrap penetratlng prongs, althoughthese recesses are not essential, andthe forward surface at least of the yoke may be finished in any desiredway, for instance by tiny ribs, knurling, or the like to provide anornamental or pleasing appearance.

The free" ends of the limbs 3 and of the yoke are shaped; to constitutebearing portions 8 and 5 which may be formed, for example by bending thematerial of the yoke; If the yoke be formed of other material than.metal, for example a moulded plastic; the bearings and 3 will be formedin a way appropriate to such material.

The bucklecomprises two independent lengths of wire of appropriatestiffness and size for the intendeduse, each length of wire comprisingthe prong portions hi and ii respectively, which terminate in pointedends which, when the buckle is in use, are disposed within the recesses5 and 'i of the cross bar, each length of wire also comprising a pintleportion 52' and i3 respectively, sub

stantially perpendicular to the corresponding prong and which turnsfreely in one of the 112-" spective bear ngs ll. A

.tle portions 22 and 53 are su' tantially longer than the bearings 3 and3 so that these pintle portions are free to move axially in bearingsaswell as tc-turn in the bearings. Each length of wire alsonomprisesaU-shaped bend and i5 respectively, joining the plntle portions 2 and 53to substantially horizontal, aligned portions l6 and I! respectively,the pintle portions, the U- shaped bends and these horizontal portionsi6 and l! collectively defining a transversely elongate strap-retainingslot it.

Each length of wire is bent at the points is and 25 respectively andfrom these points continues downwardly to form one of the elongate legs2i illustrated, the

prises a substantially U-shaped button-receiving 100p 2'5, which may beof wire of the same size and material as that which forms the prongs,the free ends of the arms 28 and 29 of this loop being bent to formhooks 39 (Fig. 2) which loosely receive the straight sides 23 and 24 ofthe respec-.

tive eyes 25 and 26. The button-receiving loop 2'! is free to swingabout the axis defined by the parts 2?. and this axis being normallyparallel to the axis defined by the bearings 8 and 9 of the yoke. hookmembers 3% are also free to move axially to a small distance along thestraight sides 23 and 24 of the eyes.

In using this improved buckle it is applied, as illustrated in Fig. 3.The lower end portion of the shoulder strap S of the garment G is passedthrough the strap-receiving slot 5 of the buckle from back to front andafter being adjusted to the desired length the prongs l0 and II arecaused to penetrate the strap so as positively to retain it at itsadjusted length. The free end portion of the strap is then preferablypassed through the strap-retaining slot 18 from front to rear, its tipusually being concealed behind the bib of the garment.

The garment here illustrated, by way of example, but without limitation,is a bib-overall provided with buttons B near the upper edge of the bibfor engagement with the shoulder straps. In accordance with the presentinvention the button-receiving loop 21 of the buckle is engaged with thebutton B, thus releasably anchoring the shoulder strap to the bib of thegarment.

Since the lengths of wire which form the two prongs l0 and H areindependent of each other, and may be moved independently axially of thebearings 8 and 9, and since the lower ends of the legs 2| and 22 areloosely connected to the buttonreceiving loop 27, the prong members,with their legs 2| and 22, are free for substantial, independentmovement both toward and away from each other, and in swinging about theaxis defined by the bearings 8 and 9. Moreover, as the button-receivingloop 21 is pivotally connected to the prong members, thebutton-receiving loop may swing relatively to the yoke in a front-toreardirection. This freedom of the various parts to move relatively to eachother provides great flexibility and avoids the stiffness and rigiditywhich is characteristic of most prior buckles employed for this orsimilar purposes. With this arrangement it is readily possible to adjustthe length of the strap S to the desired length and with the assurancethat it will remain at this adjusted length as long as may be desired.On the other hand it is very easy to disengage the strap from the bib ofthe garment so that the garment may readily be doffed without changingthe adjustment of the shoulder strap and as readily donned and securedin position without readjustment.

While one desirable embodiment of the invention has herein beenillustrated by way of example, it is to be understood that the inventionis broadly inclusive of any and all modifications falling within thescope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A buckle comprising a. yoke having a rigid cross bar and spaced limbsarranged .to define a strap-receiving slot, each limb having a bearingat its free end, the bearings being axially aligned, a pair ofstrap-penetrating prongs each having a sharp end designed to contact thecross bar of the yoke, each prong having a pintle portion arranged toturn and to slide axially in one of the yoke bearings respectively, theprongs with their pintle portions being independent of each other, eachpintle portion integrally joining an elongate leg member, each legmember having an eye at its free end, each eye having a substantiallystraight side, the straight sides of the two eyes being in alignment,and a button-engaging loop comprising spaced arms whose free ends arehooked over the straight sides of the respective eye and movablelongitudinally of said straight sides.

2. A buckle comprising a yoke having a rigid cross bar and spaced limbsarranged to define a strap-receiving slot, each limb having a bearing atits free end, the bearings being axially aligned, two independentlengths of wire each having a portion which constitutes astrap-penetrating prong sharp at its free end and engageable with thecross bar of the yoke, each length of wire also comprising a pintleportion perpendicular to the prong and turning and being axially movablein one of the respective bearings of the yoke, each length or wire alsocomprising a U-shaped bend, said bends being opposed and collectivelyconstituting a strap-retaining slot, each length of wire also comprisingan elongate leg portion terminating in an eye having a substantiallystraight side, said straight sides being aligned, and a U-shapedbutton-receiving loop having hooks at the ends of its legs which areslidable along the straight sides of the respective eyes.

MAX HOFFMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the

